After that little...incident, Nemo allowed Tom to pull up the car, it would be a tight fit for all of the league members and the crew in the second car that Roshan would drive, but comfort was the last thing on everyone's mind.
And admittedly well cramped, the knowledge your teammates were so close after everything that had happened was a comfort.
Tom and Alan sat up front; Skinner was allowed to stretch out a bit more on one seat as he was still hurt, so Nemo, Mina, and Henry were shoulder to shoulder on the other side. The Captain fought not to show how uncomfortable he was with both the close proximity and the relatively sharp shoulder blade digging into him.
Suppose politeness would dictate the lady ride up front, but the idea of being squashed next to Alan Quatermain, no matter who was put where in the sandwich, was far from a pleasant notion, Nemo could hear the complaining now.
Jekyll leaned his head against the window and fought back a groan as Hyde's image appeared in the glass, taking over Henry's own, a scowl on the counterparts face; this was going to be very unpleasant.
"This whole situation stinks to high heaven! We have to hunt those rats down who dared use us like a meat puppet and kill them!" Hyde growled.
"We need to come up with a plan first, I am still trying to sort through what happened myself, none of us can afford to be in the open right now, he might decide he does not want Nemo or us, and goes after who's the easiest target at the moment" Henry countered, he liked speaking normally with Edward, made him feel less crazy, but he could not enter into a full-blown, but a mostly one-sided conversation with the rest of his friends watching and wondering about the full version of it.
Nemo was already sparing him glances that looked like a mix of concern and anger; Henry still found himself very wary of the Captain's moods. Even though they had reached an understanding and had become friends, old habits did die hard.
"I do not like it! Slinking away to the ship like mice back to their hole! I thought the invisible idiot liked that skinny broodmare. Shouldn't he be trying to do something!?"
" is hurt, and of course he grew fond of Victor, we all did after learning about him and making friends, but rushing into a situation where we have no idea about the dangers is not going to help anyone."
Edward huffed in displeasure but mercifully went quiet for now.
It did not last long.
"Nemo said he kissed you, why? Why would he want to do that?" Edward asked. "Not like your some pretty maiden with flowing locks and delicate features."
"He might have just wanted to make Nemo angry."
"A horrible idea if true."
"Or he wants us, or more specifically, you, to make an army of Hydes, as Moriarty had planned"
"Why not just bite people? This vampire already has a way to make pawns to play with!"
"Pawns that have the same abilities as the sire, a possible way to avoid being enthralled, and perhaps even a lust for power, he might want something more...controllable...by a vampire at least," Henry countered; Mina had never used her powers intentionally on anyone in the League, and Jekyll never felt the urge to test it, Hyde was very stubborn, but so was Nemo, but the Captain was made just as helpless as they had been.
"Who are you calling controllable!?" Hyde bellowed, he was not so easily controlled!
"Nemo was pretty much HELPLESS from the sounds of it, he could not move or do anything against the vampire until they left, it would not matter who he got to take the formula, as long as they had an inner darkness, which, everyone does, or, even worse, found a way to make the change permanent"
Such a thought sent a shiver down Henry's spine, he had come so close to it becoming permanent, till the split man found an alternate formula that could be used that led to the current situation, the impure salt that caused the strange greenish hue, was the reason for his issue, but he had fixed it, managed to rework it with pure salt that he could access quickly, but it also led to Edward growing even bigger and more influential on his mind.
The League had helped with his addiction to it, knowing when he was starting to fall and keeping him distracted and in company till it passed, Edward even growing to enjoy his part, knowing it was only a matter of time till he was willingly let free, but Hyde still had his moments where he was restless and made Henry suffer for it.
Now to think another man or woman could suffer the same, if not worse, grabbed off the streets, countless sailors, prostitutes, homeless, and even children could be forced to take it, those with nothing to lose unlike how Jekyll had been in his past life, those who would eagerly take the potion, never suspecting the agony, only hearing about the rush far better than any known drugs, heightening senses, the allure of getting away with whatever you wanted, unrestrained from the chains of proper society who looked down publicly on those of lower station, all well wishing to indulge in the seedy parts of that world.
Only learning the pain of side effects after it was all too late.
A body where everything was overactive, sounds that were pleasant once, now caused discomfort and pain, church bells, whistling, opera, become too hot or nervous and your body becomes soaked with sweat, overly sensitive nose causing unwarranted drooling or runny nose, and unwillingly picking up on the scents of his companions like a dog.
Not that he had ever been anything of a friend, Dorian smelled of stale dust and sickness.
Mina smelled of spring rain and a slight hint of the metallic tinge of blood.
Nemo had the saltiness of the sea and spices.
Sawyer smelled of homemade goods, like cookies or bread.
Skinner smelled of the grease paint he used to help himself be seen, along with sherry.
Alan also smelled of dust, but unlike Dorian, who was stale, the old hunter's scent was of freshly dug earth.
The smells of random people on the street, but Henry would much rather not think about that one...
They had to get back to the ship and figure out how to overcome their current problem.
"We are here," Nemo announced, not bothering to get out of the automobile before pressing the signal button, the tell-tell bubbling appearing not long after as the Nautilus in all her beauty, rose from the depths of the water.
A few crew members shouted, and the ramp was lowered, allowing the two automobiles access to the inside of the ship.
Nemo felt himself relax slightly as they pulled into the Nautilus to park his driving machine into its place, looking over a bit, the Captain calmed more to see Mina showed no signs she felt anything had snuck inside with them.
The ramp shut behind the Automobiles, temporarily plunging the room into darkness till the overhead lights popped on and everyone got out of the vehicles to stretch their limbs.
"Captain, should I have the cook prepare breakfast for you and the others?" a female crew member asked as she gave a mild jump as Sawyer practically jumped over to her.
"Yeah! I'm starving after all of this, and I'm sure everyone else could use a hot meal!" Tom announced in a happy tone, though he also was still a bit on edge after everything, but nothing a piping hot breakfast and a nap couldn't cure, right?
"Seems my mind has been made up for me," Nemo said in a tone that tried to sound annoyed, but could not hide the tiny bit of mirth under it, the night had been a stressful one, and well, he and many of his friends might not feel like eating much, a quiet breakfast could hardly hurt anyone and might help them collect their thoughts.
And no one felt paticuarly eager to be alone in their rooms at the moment, even if the ship was safe.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Making and setting up breakfast was a quiet affair. It seemed like a heavy cloud had formed over everyone's heads; even Sawyer's boundless energy seemed to have expired despite its earlier eagerness for food to provide it with more power, and the poor young man ended up falling asleep at the table and had to be moved to his room, amusingly not waking even a bit from the jostling.
"It's no surprise he's down for the count since we were out all night long," Mina whispered, waiting for Quatermain to follow not long after, Skinner had been allowed a few moments rest in the infirmary, and she had no idea how whatever spell the other vampire had used on Nemo and Henry would affect that part of their bodies, but both men seemed to still have some fight left to be able to eat.
Though Mina was keeping an eye out in case she had to quickly pull a plate from under a drooping head.
Quatermain gave a small snort that signaled he was finished eating, pushing the plate to the side, and offered a small nod before heading for his rooms, Skinner had chosen to take his meal in the infirmary.
No doubt helped along by the pretty crew nurse who had chosen to take things off of Roshan and Jekyll's hands for the night so they could get some sleep, at least the invisible man felt well enough to flirt.
Three down, two to go, Mina thought, she did not need to sleep till the sun had risen far into the sky if she did not want to, and even that she could fight off if required, but perhaps after seeing the two men safely to their rooms, she would allow herself the human indulgence of a nap.
Surprisingly. it was Nemo who cracked first.
The Captain fought valiantly against a yawn as he managed a few bites of his dinner/breakfast, suppose the belly full of anger was starting to wane, leaving only exhaustion, soreness, and desire for all of the comforts of a familiar bed in its place.
"I think I shall retire for a few hours," Nemo said, standing up and putting the plate away for later.
"We all could use a bit of rest," Mina confirmed and saw how Jekyll had only picked at his own plate the whole time, maybe the Doctor was more tired than he let on.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Nemo prepared for bed quickly, eager to catch at least a few hours of sleep. He knew the crew would not mind it if their Captain took the rest of the day for himself, but there was planning that needed to be done and no doubt several matters that required his attention since he had been on land for so long.
They should have just brought Victor to the ship when they found him; Frankenstein had been very weak, yes, but he had survived months of harsh conditions, he would have survived a ride in the warm automobile.
No going back now, only going forward, the League of extraordinary gentlemen would get its bearings, then they could launch a rescue mission.
DaKkAr...
What was that?